Stanley and Stanford
by I.write.what.I.write
Summary: Stanley was the free spirit, Stanford was the brains. Together, they formed the Dynamic Duo.
1. Carla McCorkle returned his flowers

**Author's Note:** _Hello readers! This is my first Gravity Falls fanfic. I decided to write more about Stan's romances after re-watching the show. Stan's character is a little deeper than he lets on. The fact that he spent three decades studying and planning to rescue Ford proves how pure his heart is despite his few shortcomings._

 _The events of this chapter are what I imagine happened to Stan during the episode 'The Last Mablecorn'._

 _._

 **Carla McCorkle returned his flowers**

Stan burst in the Greasy Diner panting breathlessly. The the diner patrons looked up from their plates at him before returning to their food, trying to ignore the disruption. He took off his fez and glasses to avoid being recognized by the cops in case they thought of looking for him there.

Plopping down on the nearest bar stool, he ordered a cider please before a gentle voice asked.

"Stanley? Is that you?" A gentle voiced asked. Startled, he turned to see a blurred figure of a woman standing behind him.

Putting his glasses on to see clearly, he still didn't seem to recognize her. The lady had a medium build and looked to be about his age. She had a kindly face, olive skin tone, an upturned nose, and short brown hair that matched the color of her eyes."Uh … do I know you?" He noted to himself that if he'd known women as pretty as her, maybe he would have had a little family of his own years own years ago.

"Don't tell me you forgot about me already." She asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Stan looked her up and down consideringly before answering, "Sorry lady; you got the wrong man."

Turning his back to her, he grabbed his glass of cider and took a sip.

"I'd wear my hot pants; only, I'm too old for them." She coyly looked down at her thighs. "And too wide."

It finally hit Stan that this lady was someone he'd known when he was younger. Much younger.

"Carla?" He finally blurted out after recovering from almost choking from his drink. "Carla McCorkle!"

"Stanley Pines," she said one more time as she planted herself on the bar stool beside him. "You haven't changed a bit. Except, you're dressed a little sharper now." She complimented.

Stan chuckled, running his fingers through his thick, white hair. "So what brings you here Beautiful? Don't tell me you've been living here all these years?" He felt like his 17-year old self all over again.

"No, I'm on a road trip with my family." She gestured behind her to a family of two adults and two children who waved nicely to him. "This is one of our stops. My grandson there wanted to visit this place called The Mystery Shack? You know that place?"

"Know it? Ha! I run the place!" Stan grinned proudly at her putting his fez back on his head. "I've been running it for thirty years!"

"No way!" The little boy that had waved to him earlier got up from his seat and ran up to him, "You're Mr. Mystery?"

The little boy had dark brown hair and looked to be about a couple years younger than Dipper. His big blue eyes looked eagerly at Stan, who had a soft spot for kids. Even though he refused to admit it.

"Uh, you wanna take a tour kid?" Stan asked, a little unsure, making the boy's eyes glowed up with glee.

.

.

"And that concludes our tour for today." Stan concluded, leading Carla and her family to the gift shop. "If you wanna stock up on souvenirs, here's the gift shop. Knock yourself out."

While the family enthusiastically picked out items to purchase Carla turned to him. "I saw you on the local news last week. At first I thought it was Stanford but then you left hooked that eagle and I knew it was you." She chuckled. "Who were the kids you saved? Grandchildren?"

"My great nephew and niece." He told her, rubbing the back of his neck. "I never had kids of my own."

"You never married?" she asked, hear features softened a bit as she did so.

"Only once; that didn't last long." He muttered. "I never had kids of my own." He explained with a shrug. "How about you? Where's your man?"

"I've been divorced after sending my kids to college. Although, I should've done it sooner."

As if a light-bulb went off on top of his head, Stan got an idea. He was single, she was single. Maybe they could relive

"Hey Carla, when are you leaving Gravity Falls?" He asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Carla replied

"How about you hang with me tonight? Let's catch up on all these years. What do you say?"

.

.

"Stanley, this is such a beautiful place!" Carla exclaimed, gazing at the beautiful view of the town from their spot on Lookout Point.

"Yeah, you should see the view when it gets dark." He told her stretching his arm over the car seat. Stan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling like a teenager again."Kinda reminds you of old times huh?" he turned to her when he didn't get a reply, only to find her rummaging through her purse. "Carla what is it?"

"My mobile phone! I can't find it!" She said as a wave of panic started to wash over her.

"Mobile phone huh?" Stan scratched his head. "I never could figure out that kinda technology."

Carla looked up when a thought dawned on her, "I think I left it at the gift shop!"

"So, uh, I guess that means we have to go back huh?" Stan groaned, begrudgingly inserted the keys into the ignition and prepared to drive back to the Mystery Shack. "Alright."

.

.

As soon as they entered the Shack, Carla immediately started to search for her cellphone. While she was occupied in her search, Stan nervously started tugging at his bow-tie. Thoughts of him maybe rushing in to things raced through his mind, but all his life he's dreamed of getting back with Carla. Plus he wasn't getting any younger, it could be justified. Maybe there was a reason she came back? Maybe her arrival to Gravity Falls, a place you wouldn't normally find on a map, was a sign. An answer to his prayers and dreams all these years. There was only one way to find out.

"Uh ... Carla? I've been meaning to ask-" he started but stopped midway when he heard the sound of coins coming from the kitchen. "I'll be right back!" And with that he rushed towards the kitchen where his family was gathered around the kitchen table covered in the treasure the girls had taken from the unicorn. "Money!" he screamed, grabbing as many gold coins on the kitchen table as he could before rushing back to Carla who had finally succeeded in finding her phone.

"Carla! Let's get married baby!" He declared as he burst in the room almost out of breath.

Carla was speechless as she looked from Stan's face to the coins and back at his face again. "Stanley I …" she stuttered.

"Carla baby, I've dreamed of the day I'd see you again and have more than enough money to ask you to marry me." He admitted, stepping closer to her. "So what do you say?" He asked again; looking eagerly at her, his old, gruff face softened with, what he thought was, love.

Carla was silent for a few seconds before she said to him, "Stanley … you can't buy love. Not mine." She murmured.

Stan felt his heart break for what seemed like the umpteenth time. Carla was right, he'd always been sort of a cad. Always wanting quick results. Her arrival to Gravity Falls was really a sign. He needed to let go of the past because a new chapter of his life was unfolding for him, and he needed to release any feelings and memories he had of his painful past in order to live his life the way he should. With people that truly loved and cared for him, the people that had stayed on his side regardless of past transgressions.

"Carla," He started as he placed the stack of coins over the counter. "You and Ford were the two people I loved most in this world. And after you two broke my heart, I thought I could never love again. But that was the one time that I was glad I was wrong."

Carla smiled apologetically at him as she gently placed a hand on his cheek, giving him a wistful glance. "Goodbye Stanley." She told him as she walked out the front door with Stan looking on Sadly.

"Goodbye Carla," he whispered as he heard a car leave his driveway. "Forever."


	2. Punch and Payback

**Chapter 2: Punch and Payback**

Stanley didn't really want to go to the school dance, after Carla had left him for that damn hippie he didn't have a date to take to the dance and he wasn't in the mood to meet other girls either. But after Stanford had begged him so many times to go with him and be his wingman at the dance (he thought Stanford should've asked him earlier but- what the heck) he finally gave in and decided to go along. Given the fact that Stanford was never used to all this dating stuff, Stan figured he'd help him out.

The school auditorium where the dance was being held in looked menacing as it loomed in the distance when they neared it. Making his stomach turn into knots.

"Stanley, uh … I changed my mind." Ford said, sinking himself into the passenger seat as if the pressure he placed on the seat could slow down the car.

"What! You better be joking because I ain't driving back home yet!"

"But _Lee_!" Ford pleaded.

"No butts, except yours on the dancefloor! What's wrong with you sixer? I thought you wanted to have fun."

"I do! Until I remembered that my kind of fun is different from what the other kids consider fun."

Stan scoffed, "No kidding." While Ford chose books, Stan chose looks... among other activities that were not academically related. The two couldn't be more different. Stan enjoyed being outdoors, looking for adventure, and fun, and challenges, while Ford locked himself away in his room or hung out at the library for hours on weekends with his face buried in books. "Look, it's no big deal. You just go in there, have a small chat with the ladies and hang at the snack table if you don't feel like dancing." Stan explained dismissively, "Remember sixer, the three Cs of the Stan Pines dating technique," Stan held up three beefy fingers, "Confidence, Comedy, and some other C-word that I can't seem to remember." He scratched his head trying to recall what the third C stood for.

Ford looked down at his hands which were balled up in his lap before guessing, "Conversation?"

Stan simply shrugged his broad shoulders, "Maybe. The point I'm trying to get across is, if you can get straight A's with half the effort I put into studying to get a B, you can easily have a great time at the dance."

"It's really not that hard Stanley," he told his brother with a smile. "Getting straight As. You just need to put in a little effort."

"See?" Stan's face lit as he pointed a finger at his twin, "That's what I'm talking about; Confidence! You already have my face, all you need is some of that Stan Pines confidence and the babes will find you irresistible!"

Ford took a deep breath and fixed his posture with his newfound confidence, "Ok. I'm going in!"

"That's the ticket!" Stanley encouraged, raising his right hand, "High-six?"

"High-six!" The boost of confidence that Ford has gotten from Stanley's little pep-talk was soon diminished once the duo entered the auditorium where the dance was being held and were greeted by Crampelter, their arch-nemesis, and his goons.

"Hey check this out guys!" The bigger boy pointed a condescending finger at the brothers, "the loser twins took each other as dates for the dance!"

"Get lost Crap-pelter! I got no time for your stupid jokes tonight!" Stanley responded.

"You wanna make something out of it Pines?" Crampelter grabbed Stan's collar and was ready to push him away but the sound of someone clearing their throat cut him off.

"Break it off you two," The teacher who was chaperoning the dance said, his voice full of frustration indicating this wasn't the first time he's had to deal with the two getting into a fight. "Not tonight." He told them as he took off his glasses and rubbed his temples irritably.

"It's not over yet, _Pines_!" Crampelter whispered harshly before pushing Stanley away and headed off to join his date among the group of teens who stared offensively at the two.

"Eh! Don't pay them no mind sixer," Stan flung his arms contemptuously at them and made his way towards the snack table, Ford followed behind. "Ok, just look around, see if anyone here catches your fancy." Stan instructed casually, as he lifted the plastic ladle in the bowl of punch and poured the drink in two plastic cups and handed one to his brother.

Ford took the cup from his brother and turned to scan the place, his eyes finally landing on a girl with red hair tied into a ponytail in a sleeveless green dress. Ford's shoulders perked up as he pointed a finger at her. "She seems nice." He told Stanley.

"Well, go ahead, talk to her."

Ford took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, "Confidence, Comedy, Conversation." He chanted under his breath and marched towards her as Stanley looked on sipping on his punch, half-expecting his brother to fail. But that's how you learn.

Ford awkwardly stood behind her and took a gulp of his drink before he cleared his throat causing the girl to acknowledge his presence and turn to face him. "Hello," he gave a small wave with his left hand. "I'm Stanford, are you enjoying the dance?"

"Not really," She replied with a shrug, "my date got the stomach flu and I couldn't let this dress go to waste."

"That's a beautiful dress by the way," Ford complimented shyly, "it goes perfectly with your hair."

The girl's face glowed, "That's what I thought!"

Ford turned to Stanley and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up before turning back to the girl. "You know, redheads were believed to turn into vampires after they die."

The girl's eyes widened in shock, never before has she felt more humiliated and disrespected than at that moment. "Hmph!" she snorting, throwing the drink in his face and stomping away angrily.

Ford thought that nobody would be able to notice how red his face was with embarrassment since it was covered in the punch that was dripping off his chin. He shouldn't have begged Stanley to come here.

Stan cackled as he stood behind Ford and threw the punch on his face trying to make his twin feel better. There was an unspoken agreement between them: when push comes to shove, they only needed each other. "Let's get out of here." He said to him, pointing to the main exit door behind him.

"I'm sorry I made you take me to the dance Stan, it was a total waste of my time and yours." Ford apologized, pulling the seatbelt over his shoulder and buckling it.

"Ah, don't sweat it buddy." Stan assured him, turning the keys of the car in the switch. "I laced the punch with some laxative, those suckers are gonna be fighting each other for the bathroom … to the death!" he screamed with a fist in the air and started laughing out loud when a picture of it crossed his mind.

Ford almost never found his brother's pranks were funny given that it almost always involved people getting hurt. Albeit not seriously but still … though this time, he saw the funny side of it and laughed along as they drove away.


	3. CarlaI'vealwayslovedyoubutneverhadthegut

**Author's Note:** **** _Before I begin this chapter I just wanted to thank LittleAmberAmethyst for her constant support. I stopped caring about how many reviews I get but I just wanted to tell you how much I loved reading your reviews and thank you for enjoying my fanfic. I love how the show portrays Dipper and Mabel's relationship as not always bickering and rivalry like in some other shows, so I imagined the relationship between Stan and Ford was similar in their younger years before the fallout. Stanley may seem like a small-time crook with no redeeming qualities about him, but if you think about how he's studied and worked hard for thirty years to get his brother back, that says a lot about him and his sense of loyalty. I also like to believe that he's the older twin.  
Well, as cheesy as it may sound, I dedicate this chapter for you LittleAmberAmethyst lol, I hope you enjoy it 3_

 _._

 _._

 **CarlaI'vealwayslovedyoubutneverhadthegutstosayit**

"Stanley, are you sure you don't want to reconsider this?" I nervously asked my twin brother who had succeeded in breaking into Thistle Downe's van. The strong smell of incense and pot in the van hit my nose making me feel a little light headed, Stan however didn't seem to be affected by it as much as I was.

"Ford you see this clown's car? It's basically what killers and kidnappers drive! We're practically protecting Carla!" He explained while looking under the steering wheel for wires.

I really liked Carla, she was like a sister to me and she was the love of Stan's life, so I understood why he wanted revenge on the man that stole her away from him. However, Stan tended to go a little overboard with his revenge plans and it almost always ended in him getting into trouble. And even though I should be talking him out of the situation; at that moment, I felt like all caution was thrown to the wind and was willing to go along with his plan.

The sound of the van's engine starting up brought my focus back on the present, "Come on sixer! We have to leave before somebody sees us!" Stan shouted causing me to swiftly jump to the passenger seat and we drove off into the night.

"So … what now?" I asked after we drove silently around for around five minutes, anxiously tapping my fingers over my knees. "Wait let's get some music playing, it's too quiet in here." I fiddled with the radio dial until I heard a song I liked.

Stan gave me a strange look before turning his focus back on the road, "Uh we'll just drive a few more miles then ditch this piece of junk somewhere in the forest."

 _Thoughts meander like a restless wind  
Inside a letter box they  
Tumble blindly as they make their way  
Across the universe_

"And how do we get back home? I mean, it's already dark out here."

Stan's telling silence proved to me that he didn't think this over beyond stealing the van. "I don't know, we'll probably hitch a ride or … you're the brains Ford, don't you have anything in that noggin' o' yours?"

I honestly didn't, I was feeling deeply relaxed and carefree that I wanted to think of nothing. Just talk.

"How come I couldn't snag a girl like you did, Stan?" My question was devoid of envy or any negative feelings; I just wanted to know _why_. Stan has always said I was the brains but honestly, all I knew about this world was from books; knowledge passed down to me from others' past experiences. Others like Stanley. He was always out there, not afraid to feel and experience life that happened beyond the walls of the places I usually hung out at. "It's because I'm a freak isn't it?" I asked, tucking my fingers ashamedly under my palm.

"Hey!" he shouted angrily making me jolt from my seat, "how many times did I ask you not to say that? You're just, _different_. Freaks are people like Crampelter and that jerk _Thistle Downe_ —I doubt that's his real name anyway! I'm telling you Ford, I'm getting major _creep-o_ vibes from that clown."

"And dad." I muttered.

"Na, he's just a jerk." Stan mumbled bitterly after a couple seconds of silence.

"You know, I'm only his favorite because of all those medals and awards I get." I told him.

"Hey, as soon as we're done with high school, we're leaving this place and everyone behind. It's just gonna be you and me."

 _Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world_

I started singing the chorus and with a little chuckle Stan joined me in singing the rest of the song. Obviously catching the drift that I was high on second hand weed smoke.

Stan took his eyes off the road to look at me, "We better get you some snacks before the munchies set in." As his eyes refocused on the road a deer darting across the road suddenly came into view, causing him to swerve avoiding the deer but collided into the guardrail on the opposite side of the road. The van precariously balanced on the edge of the cliff, any sudden move could send us crashing down into the ravine below.

We sat silently in shock for a moment before I remembered reading about what to do in a situation like this. "Stanley," I whispered as if speaking in the normal range would cause the vehicle to fall off the cliff.

"You got an idea?" He whispered back.

"Keep your foot on the brake, pull the brake handle _slowly_ , and turn off the vehicle." I instructed.

"Now what?"

"On the count of three, we both quickly move to the back of the van. Ready? One- two- three!"

We both scurried to the back causing the van to tilt back on solid ground, Stan cautiously opened the sliding door. "You get out first!" he told me.

"But Stan!" I protested.

"I'm heavier than you, I'll help keep the van balanced. Now go!"

I did as I was told and quickly jumped out of the van with Stan shortly following behind. We rolled on the ground away from the van that was now falling off the cliff. It flipped and rolled for about four times before finding its ultimate resting place at the bottom of the ravine. We both watched from our spot as the vehicle hissed and sputtered upside down, with its back wheels still spinning.

"You ok?" He asked me, his eyes still fixed on the broken vehicle. The severity of the damage he'd just unintentionally caused slowly taking over him. I knew he didn't mean to take it this far, but the damage was done and at that moment, I was just thankful we both made it out alive.

"Sort of," I replied. "You?"

Stan took a deep breath before responding, "I'm not sure."

I placed my arm over his slumped shoulders, "Come on Stanley, let's go home. We'll figure out what do about this later."

We walked in silence towards the house, and I swear I could feel dread, regret, and guilt that was emanating from him.

"I know you didn't mean to do that Stan, don't beat yourself up over it."

"Carla's gonna hate me if she finds out about this." He muttered apprehensively, his face still drained of color.

And he was right about that, unfortunately, because as soon as we reached home, Carla and Thistle were waiting for us in front of our house.

"Where's the van Stanley?" Carla asked accusingly, her arms crossed in front of her chest while Thistle was trying to calm her down in vain. "And don't you dare deny it! We saw you drive away with it!"

"Carla" I cut in, "We got into an accident while driving the van and it fell into a ravine. But we'll make up for it, I promise. We'll pay you back. We're really sorry about this." I turned to Thistle who still kept his placid demeanor which was pretty unsettling to me. I finally understood why Stan couldn't vibe with him.

He calmly approached us, "It's alright. That van was getting old anyway, I was thinking of taking up driving. Much better for our planet." Thistle said as he rested a hand on Stan's shoulder.

It was as if something snapped in Stanley, because without warning, his fist smashed on Thistle's jaw. All of his anger, all of his pent-up rage, unloading into the guy's jaw sending him spiraling backwards and falling on the sidewalk.

"Stanley!" Carla screamed, quickly stepping forward and slapping Stan's face so hard that the sound echoed throughout the quiet block.

"Don't even think of speaking to me again!" She told him as she walked away angrily. Thistle followed behind.

.

Stanley was always the tough one; he was the one with the most confidence and, in my opinion, the better looking one. But right now, he was laying down on the bed heartbroken and close to tears.

"I lost her sixer, I lost Carla!" He covered his face with both his hands so I won't see his tears, his voice cracked, pain clogged his throat. "I just wish I had the guts to tell how I really felt about her!" And just like that, hot streams of tears started falling from his eyes as he sat up and cried into my shoulder like a child, tears staining my shirt. I patted his back to calm him down; wishing I could do more. I couldn't help but be thankful that dad wasn't home to see this. God knows how he'd flip if he saw Stan cry—to him, crying was a sign of weakness.

"I honestly don't know what to say that would make this all better Stanley," I said somberly, "but I promise that I'll be by your side till it passes. When push comes to shove right?"

He finally looked up at me, wiping tears from his eyes and with a sniffle, he gave me a sad smile and got up to go the bathroom to wash his face.


End file.
